Megasquirting the e28 ?s

[B C]

I would convert the car to "i" spec and buy a plug and play kit from diyautotune.com or from one of a few guys on the E30 forums that build them into the stock ECU casing like I have. They go by the names whodwho and blueapplesoda on r3vlimited.com 

Once it is converted to "i" spec you need to run a vacuum line to the ECU and then start the car and drive it (assuming the software is ready to go which it should be). 

Then you can make some nice drivability improvements and remove the AFM and get an M50 TPS or whatever other TPS you want to install. MS doesnt care. 

After looking at bassboys MS1 and helping him upgrade it to MS2, building a board by yourself wouldn't necessarily be all that hard, but its nice to know that a professional built and tested it and that it fits where the stock ecu does and plugs in just the same, very convenient!. I didnt want a no-start condition to be caused by my poor soldering skills either.
 

Gunmetalgrey built his MS3 himself so you can pick his brain about how easy or infuriating the construction is. 

if you want to hack into your harness or make an adapter harness instead of build a board, then what Bassboy did by getting an MS1 box already built (used) for $150 or so, then spending $80ish on the upgrade to MS2 is a definite steal. That works out well for him since its an e21 and doesnt have an existing EFI harness so he has to wire that all himself anyways.

[Rowleym]

If you are nearly handy at all, Build your own wiring harness!!!!! fully sequential fuel, and add cheap ass junkyard ls truck coils for your spark.

[Rowleym]

The reason i say ls coils is because of ease of install with no added drivers. and LS is sooo documented.

[Bassboy3313]

What snap said!!

[RamRod E28]

I need some of you guys in my area lol. I'm a visual and hands on learner. And why swap to i head?

[Rowleym]

so you can use the "plug and play" e30 option. http://www.diyautotune.com/diypnp/apps/b55/usdm-bmw-325-8792-m20b25-mt.html

[Rowleym]

not the entire head. just the electronics and wiring

[RamRod E28]

If I swap the head my compression lowers doesn't it? Better for boosting then???

[B C]

If I rebuild my engine, I will probably increase compression a bit. 

Higher compression is more prone to detonation, but off-boost performance will be much better.

[B C]

Rowley,  are you telling me that you can run wasted spark on 1 coil driver?!?!?

Im not doubting or anything, I haven't read up much on alternate ignition setups so I may learn something from you here.

[Rowleym]

Snap said:

Rowley,  are you telling me that you can run wasted spark on 1 coil driver?!?!?

Im not doubting or anything, I haven't read up much on alternate ignition setups so I may learn something from you here. 

 Oh hey I forgot about ms2 only having one. I have MS3 so I went with the easiest setup...

[Rowleym]

And ls1 coils have built in ignitors, so You don't need the drivers. They are Logic level or something if i remember.

[RamRod E28]

So snap did you just buy a MSPNP2 and did plug and play or did you make your own board?

[B C]

I bought one from whodwho on r3vlimited pre-built in a 173 DME case (e30 325i).

[RamRod E28]

How much did that run you and can you tune a n/a base tune and do a turbo tie after the fact?

[B C]

650 and worth every penny, I already had a wideband (strongly recommended but not a necessity)

 but to be realistic,  a wideband, GM intake temp sensor, bung, misc air intake mods, and M50 TPS + adapter would probably get the total price  around a grand.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=202653

I still have the NA tune on the ECU but it would take a whole 5 minutes to make it work for my new bigger injectors and a turbo (fine tuning required of course). I will probably do that tonight. 

the cost shouldnt freak you out, but one way to look at it is, if your car rusts out, canadians stab it with popsicle sticks, or if earl polishes every bolt on it, you can take the ecu and use it in any other car (monte carlos, bitchin camaros, integras, vw cabriolets etc) as long as you make the appropriate changes in the tune (change number of cylinders  and injector size for example) and adapt the wiring harness to work.

[RamRod E28]

could they build one up of the dme in my e28???

[B C]

If I had someone to learn megasquirt from in the first place I could have saved a little money and bought the DIYPNP  assembled ecu from diyautotune.com but I had to figure it out by myself with the internet and whatever infrequent emails or PMs I could receive from others.

The only thing youd be missing by getting a DIYPNP vs one built into a e30 ecu is that whodwho incorporates a circuit in the ecu that allows you to use the stock e30 TPS, but this is not desirable, a variable TPS like what an M50 has is far superior for tuning and running the car. 

You could get the DIYPNP setup with the bosch 55pin harness (stock e30 325i ) so you would just need a 55 pin harness on your car to connect into it, then get aluminum plate, drill some holes in it, mount the ecu to the plate, and the plate to the stock ecu location.

[Rowleym]

I actually bought the DIYPNP setup and built it, and then realized I wanted something more universal and have more features. Don't be scared at the wiring and stuff. I would be more scared to build the board! I say you should buy a ms3 and gut an old e28 ecu case if you want it plug and play, and wire the necessary connections to it. I say buy something Pre-assembled.

[Bassboy3313]

If the e21 came with an ecu and someone made a PNP megasquirt for it like they do for the e30, I would of spent the extra money in a heartbeat. But since I had no choice, I went the used route and bought a board already assembled and will be having the joy if wiring everything up to my engine sensors soon.